Multiple chamber condiment grinder

ABSTRACT

A dual chamber condiment grinder has more than one chamber for holding a different condiment in each, and each chamber has a rasp that can be selectively moved up and down to grind the condiment in the associated chamber. An actuating handle rotates on the top of the chambers to position a cam over one or the other of the rasps to selectively grind the contents of one of the chambers. In the alternative, the cam can move in a slot in a movable handle to position the cam over the desired rasp.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to hand-held condiment grinders that includemultiple chambers and a grinding actuating mechanism that willselectively actuate a grinder mechanism for each chamber.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hand-held condiment grinders are known. These grinders usually have asingle chamber for holding only one condiment at a time, such as,peppercorns, salt, seeds or the like. One grinder of this type is shownin U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,697,749 and 4,573,244. Some grinders have more thanone chamber to hold more than one condiment at the same time but thesemultiple chamber grinders require more complicated, separately actuatedgrinding mechanisms, each fully separate from the other so that twodifferent grinding mechanisms and actuating mechanisms for thosegrinding mechanisms are required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is a multiple chamber condiment grinder, preferablyhaving two separate chambers, but in which a common grinding actuatingmechanism is used by being selectively positioned over each chamber. Inone embodiment, the grinding actuating mechanism is rotatably mounted tobe rotated selectively over one or the other of the separate chambers.In another embodiment, a cam is moved to be selectively positioned overone or the other of the separate chambers. Other variations of theselective actuation of the grinding mechanism may also be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the grinder.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view with parts broken away for clarity.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section taken along the line 3—3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the housing with the handles and internal partsremoved for clarity.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the grinder.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal section taken along the line 6—6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7A is a front view of the rasp 18 forming part of the grinder. FIG.7B is a side elevation thereof. FIG. 7C is a top view of the rasp. FIG.7D is an exploded view of a return spring for actuation of the rasp.

FIG. 8A is a front view of the rasp 16 forming part of the invention.FIG. 8B is a side elevation thereof. FIG. 8C is a top view of the rasp.

FIG. 9A is a front view of a rasp retaining sleeve forming part of theinvention. FIG. 9B is an exploded side elevation thereof. FIG. 9C is anexploded top view thereof.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view of another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary detail of the embodiment of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As best shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, the grinder includes a housing 10formed from two joined halves 10 a and 10 b and having at least twochambers 12, 14. For the purpose of this invention it will be understoodthat two chambers will be used, however, more than two chambers are alsopossible. A first chamber 12 (FIG. 6) may hold one condiment, such as,salt. A second chamber 14 may hold a second condiment, such as,peppercorns. Each chamber has a lower wall 13 and an upper wall 15. Afirst rasp 16 is positioned in the first chamber 12 and a second rasp 18is positioned in the second chamber 14. Each rasp 16, 18 has teeth orspaced grinding edges 20 (FIGS. 7A and 8A) that are spaced from a shearblock 23 and 23 a mounted in the bottom wall of chambers 12 and 14,respectively.

Each of the shear blocks 23, 23 a has a ramp 22 and a shearing edge 24,although other forms of a shearing surface are also contemplated. Theshearing blocks can both be adjustably spaced from the teeth 20 of therasp to control the size of the ground particles. The space between eachof the rasps 16, 18 and the associated shearing edge 24 defines adischarge gap 29 for discharging ground condiment. In the alternative,the shearing blocks 23, 23 a for each chamber 12, 14 can be fixed to notadjust the size of the ground condiment. In the embodiment shown in thedrawing, particularly FIGS. 5 and 6, one of the shear blocks 23 a ismade adjustable by an eccentric pin 26 that can be rotated by a knob 28.Rotation of the knob 28 will cause the shear block 23 a to move towardor away from the rasp 18 to change the width of gap 29 between the block23 a and the rasp 18 and thus control the size of the ground condiment.This is particularly desirable for peppercorns as users often havedifferent preferences for the size of the ground pepper.

The rasps 16 and 18 extend up through the top wall 15 of the chambers12, 14 and are spaced from one another, as shown in FIG. 6. One rasp 18has a fork with arms 19 (FIGS. 7B and 7C) forming a space therebetweenand extending out toward the other rasp 16. The other rasp 16 has atongue 21 (FIGS. 8A and 8C) extending out therefrom and positioned inthe space between the arms 19 of the fork. Both the arms 19 and thetongue 21 lie over a spring chamber. As best seen in FIGS. 6 and 7D, aspring 36 is positioned on a pin 38 having a flat enlarged cap 40. Thebottom of the spring rests on a boss 39. As can be readily seen, if rasp18 with the fork is moved downwardly, the spring 36 can be depressedwithout effecting the rasp 16 with the tongue 21 and vice versa. Thus,the rasps 16, 18 can be selectively actuated to grind the condiment inone chamber 12, 14 or the other.

The tops of the rasps 16, 18 extend up through the top wall 15 of thechambers 12, 14 and are engageable by a cam 50. The cam 50 may be formedon the end of an arm 48 formed on a movable handle 46. In thisembodiment a second handle 47 is provided. The handles have a circularflange 60 (FIG. 3) that rides in a circular groove 62 formed in a collar63 attached to the top walls of the chambers. In a preferred embodiment,the collar 63 is made of Delrin®, a hard and low friction form ofplastic, or other plastic or metal. In the illustrated embodiment, thehandles are rotated 180 degrees to selectively position the cam 48 overeither the rasp 16 or the rasp 18. Thus, if the cam 50 is positionedover the rasp 16, for example, movement of the movable handle 46 towardthe opposite handle 47 will move the cam 50 downwardly, thus pushing therasp 16 only downwardly to grind the condiment in that chamber 12. Therasp 18 of the other chamber 14 will not be moved. By rotating thehandles 46, 47 in the circular groove 62 to the opposite position, thecam 50 will actuate only the rasp 18.

In a preferred embodiment, detents 66 (FIG. 4), spaced 180 degrees fromeach other, are formed on the top flange 67 of the collar 63. Matingindents 68 are formed 180 degrees apart in a groove 69 in the handles.As the handles are turned about the longitudinal axis of the housing,their indents move from one detent position, engaging detents 66, to theother detent position, again engaging detents 66, after 180 degrees ofrotation. The indents 68 and mating detents 66 releasably hold thehandles in one of their two operating positions while the grinder isbeing used.

As best seen in FIGS. 1, 3 and 6, a transparent window 110 is providedin a bottom region of handle 47. As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 6, collar63 is provided with a protrusion 111 extending upward from an upperregion of collar 63. In a preferred embodiment, the name 112 of a firstcondiment is provided on one side of the protrusion, and the name of asecond condiment (not shown) is provided on the opposite side of theprotrusion, such that the two names are circumferentially spaced on theprotrusion by 180 degrees. The protrusion 111 is aligned with the window110 of the handle, such that the name of the condiment is visiblethrough the window 110, and corresponds to the condiment that will beground given the position of the handle. When the handles are rotated180 degrees to the alternative operating position, the window 112 isthen aligned with the name of the second condiment, corresponding to thecondiment in the second chamber. In this manner, a user may simply lookat the window 110 to determine the position of the handle and hencewhich condiment will be ground when the handle 46 is actuated. It willbe understood that the names of any two condiments may be provided onthe protrusion 111 of collar 63, although in a preferred embodiment, thecollar 63 is marked with the words “salt” and “pepper.” If desired, asecond window (not shown) may be provided on the handle 47 oppositewindow 110 to continuously display a desired element, for example, acompany logo.

Each rasp is guided in the housing by flanges 90 and 91 (FIG. 3). Thetops of the rasps are guided by a rectangular sleeve 99 (FIG. 6), andshown in exploded view in FIGS. 9A-9C. The sleeve is formed of two parts102 having guide walls 103 for slidably retaining the rasps when thesleeve is attached within the housing. Alternatively, the sleeve 99 maybe formed as an integral piece. Receptacles 105 in the housings for pins104 position the sleeve in fixed position in the housing 10.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, a cam 70 is attachedto a square pin 72 that rides in a slot 74 of a movable handle 76. Anadjustment rod 78 passes into the handle and is attached to the pin 72.The pin 72 is conventional of two pieces with a spring pushing themapart in a conventional manner as a detent. The ends of the pin 72 arerounded to fit into two detents or dimple positions 77 at opposite endsof the slot 74 to selectively provide for positioning the cam over oneor the other of the rasps 16 or 18. Thus, the rod 78 can be moved in onedirection to position the cam 70 over the rasp in one of the chambers.In the alternative, the rod can be moved in the opposite direction toposition the cam over the other rasp in the other chamber. In the samemanner as described above, when one of the rasps is moved downwardly bythe movement of the moveable handle, the other rasp is unaffected.

As shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,749, the details of the disclosureof which are incorporated herein by reference thereto, each chamber willbe provided with an access door 80 for filling the condiment in thatchamber. Also the two halves are aligned by pins on one half with matingholes in the other half and then fused together by sonic welding or anyother well known method.

More than one embodiment of the invention is shown and described itbeing understood that other equivalent embodiments not shown will beapparent to one skilled in the art. Thus, the invention is not to belimited to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multiple chamber condiment grinder, comprising:a first chamber for holding a first condiment to be ground; a secondchamber adjacent the first chamber but separate therefrom for holding asecond condiment to be ground, a shear block being provided in each ofthe first and second chambers; a first rasp positioned in the firstchamber and a second rasp positioned in the second chamber, each of thefirst and second rasps having a top region, and shearing edgesoperatively spaced from said shear block in each chamber defining adischarge gap and for grinding a condiment between the rasp and theshear block and discharging the ground condiment through the dischargegap between the shear block and the rasp; a first handle; a movablesecond handle joined to said first handle and having an arm with a cam,said cam engageable with the top region of one of the first and secondrasps for pushing the rasp downwardly in the chamber and the shearingedges of the rasp past the shearing block to grind the condiment; areturn spring engageable with each rasp for raising the shearing edgesup past the shearing block; said cam of said handle being mounted onsaid chambers to be selectively moved from a first position wherein thecam is located over the first rasp in the first chamber to a secondposition wherein the cam is located over the second rasp in a secondchamber, whereby the rasp of each chamber can be selectively actuatedfor grinding the condiment in that chamber.
 2. The grinder of claim 1,wherein the first and second handles are rotatably mounted on thechambers for selectively positioning the cam over the first or secondrasp.
 3. The grinder of claim 1, wherein the cam of said movable secondhandle is movable relative to said second handle from said firstposition over the first rasp to said second position over the secondrasp.
 4. The grinder of claim 1, said first rasp having spaced forksprojecting therefrom overlying the spring, the spaced forks forming anopening therebetween, said second rasp having a tongue projectingtherefrom and extending into the opening between said forks alsooverlying the spring.
 5. The grinder of claim 4, further comprising avertical pin between the rasps and beneath the fork and the tongue ofthe rasps, the pin having an enlarged top selectively engageable withthe fork or the tongue, said spring encircling the pin and beingcompressed by downward movement of the pin.
 6. The grinder of claim 2,said chambers each having a top wall, said top walls being joined andforming a circular opening, a collar fixed in said opening, the collarhaving a circular horizontal groove, said handles being joined to have acircular flange, the flange of the handles fitted within the groove ofthe circular collar for rotatably guiding the handles to the first andsecond positions.
 7. The grinder of claim 1, at least one of said shearblocks being adjustable to vary the size of the discharge gap betweenthe shear block and the shearing edges of the rasp for changing thecoarseness of the ground condiment.
 8. The grinder of claim 6, whereinsaid first rasp has spaced forks projecting therefrom overlying thespring, the spaced forks forming an opening therebetween, said secondrasp has a tongue projecting therefrom and extending into the openingbetween said forks also overlying the spring, a vertical pin between therasps and beneath the fork and the tongue of the rasps, the pin havingan enlarged top selectively engageable with the fork or the tongue, saidspring encircling the pin and being compressed by downward movement ofthe pin.
 9. The grinder of claim 1, wherein said first rasp havingspaced forks projecting therefrom overlying the spring, the spaced forksforming an opening therebetween, said second rasp having a tongueprojecting therefrom and extending into the opening between said forksalso overlying the spring, a vertical pin between the rasps and beneaththe fork and the tongue of the rasps, the pin having an enlarged topselectively engageable with the fork or the tongue, said springencircling the pin and compressed by downward movement of the pin. 10.The grinder of claim 1, further comprising an indicator that displays toa user a name of the first condiment when the cam is in the firstposition and a name of the second condiment when the cam is in thesecond position.
 11. The grinder of claim 10, wherein the indicatorincludes a fixed collar around which the first and second handlesrotate, names of the first and second condiments being positioned onopposite sides of the collar, a window being provided in one of thefirst and second handles aligned with the names on the collar, the nameof the first condiment being visible through the window when the cam isin the first position and the name of the second condiment being visiblewhen the cam is in the second position.
 12. A dual chamber condimentgrinder having first and second chambers that are spaced and separatefrom each other, each chamber holding a condiment to be ground, eachhaving a top wall and a bottom wall; means in each chamber for grindingthe condiment in that chamber, a handle attached to the top of thechambers, said handle being operable to selectively actuate the meansfor grinding the condiment in one or the other of the first and secondchambers; and wherein said means for grinding the condiment eachincludes a reciprocable rasp having a top region, a shear block, theshear block being spaced from the rasp to define a shearing dischargegap therebetween, wherein movement of the rasp past the shear block willgrind the condiment in a respective chamber and discharge the groundcondiment through the discharge gap.
 13. The grinder of claim 12, saidhandle including a pivotable member having a cam engageable with the topregion of a rasp, and a fixed member, said handle being mounted abovethe chambers, said cam being movable relative to the handle to bepositioned selectively over one or the other of the rasps.
 14. Thegrinder of claim 12, said handle including a pivotable member having acam engagable with the top region of a rasp, and said handle beingrotatable to selectively position the cam over one or the other of thetops of the rasp.
 15. The grinder of claim 12, wherein said first rasphas spaced forks projecting therefrom overlying the spring, the spacedforks forming an opening therebetween, said second rasp having a tongueprojecting therefrom and extending into the opening between said forksalso overlying the spring.
 16. The grinder of claim 15, wherein avertical pin is positioned between the rasps and beneath the forks andthe tongue of the rasps, the pin having an enlarged top selectivelyengageable with the forks or the tongue, said spring encircling the pinand compressed by downward movement of the pin.
 17. The grinder of claim12, wherein said handle is rotatably mounted on the chambers forselectively actuating the grinding means of a respective chamber.
 18. Adual chamber condiment grinder having first and second chambers that arespaced and separate from each other, each chamber holding a condiment tobe ground, each having a top wall and a bottom wall; means in eachchamber for grinding the condiment in that chamber, a handle attached tothe top of the chambers, said handle being operable to selectivelyactuate the means for grinding the condiment in one or the other of thefirst and second chambers; and wherein said handle includes a cam foractuating said grinding means in a respective chamber, said cam beingmovable selectively within the handle from a position to actuate thegrinding means of the first chamber to a position to actuate thegrinding means of the second chamber.
 19. A dual chamber condimentgrinder having first and second chambers that are spaced and separatefrom each other, each chamber holding a condiment to be ground, eachhaving a top wall and a bottom wall; means in each chamber for grindingthe condiment in that chamber, a handle attached to the top of thechambers, said handle being operable to selectively actuate the meansfor grinding the condiment in one or the other of the first and secondchambers; and further comprising an indicator that displays to a user aname of the first condiment when the handle is selectively positioned toactuate the means for grinding the condiment in the first chamber and aname of the second condiment is displayed to the user when the handle isselectively positioned to actuate the means for grinding the condimentin the second chamber.
 20. The grinder of claim 19, wherein theindicator includes a fixed collar around which the handle rotates, namesof the first and second condiments being positioned on opposite sides ofthe collar, a window being provided in the handle aligned with the nameson the collar, the name of the first condiment being visible through thewindow when the handle is positioned to actuate the means for grindingthe condiment in the first chamber and the name of the second condimentbeing visible through the window when the handle is positioned toactuate the means for grinding the condiment in the second chamber.